Alcohol: For the Rheumatoid Arthritis That Ails You

Posted on Jul 28, 2010

Flickr / Bernt Rostad

This could be a case in which the cure may cause problems above and beyond the severity of the symptoms, but a study that sounds like more fun than others we’ve heard of has found that alcohol consumption may help ease the pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, as well as check the disease itself. However, the researchers behind these exciting findings sounded a requisite cautionary note while they were at it. —KA

BBC:

Drinking alcohol can not only ease the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis it appears to reduce disease severity too, research suggests.

Scientists at the University of Sheffield asked two groups of patients with and without the disease to provide details of their drinking habits.

They found that patients who had drunk alcohol most frequently experienced less joint pain and swelling.

Experts say this should not be taken as a green light for drinking more.